A Snow Baby (or Snowbaby) is a small figurine, usually of a child, that depicts some aspect of the Christmas holidays or of winter sports. The traditional snow baby is made of unglazed biscuit porcelain (or bisque) and shows a child dressed in a snowsuit; the suit itself is covered in small pieces of crushed bisque, giving the appearance of fallen snowflakes. Figurines of other characters were also made, including Santa Claus, elves and animals such as penguins and polar bears.

The oldest Snow Babies were manufactured in Germany in the 1890s, and were typically either all white with a painted face, or painted in pastel colors. With the onset of World War I, production stopped; when it resumed after the war ended, the snow babies were less finely detailed in their porcelain and finish. In the 1920s, Japanese manufacturers began to produce Snow Baby replicas, though they were generally of a lesser quality than those made in Germany. In the late 1980s an American company called Department 56 began producing a new line of Snow Babies in Taiwan.

Current Artist: Kristi Jensen Pierro

For over 33 years Department 56® artist, Kristi Jensen Pierro has captured the beauty and splendor of winter in her Snowbabies™’ designs. Her personal experiences are artfully designed into each Snowbabies’ piece and carefully named to ensure a sentiment of love, friendship or inspiration. “Each piece I design tells its own story. It’s the story that makes each Snowbabies’ figurine special and unique.”  Story dated April 2020.